As firebreak ends and new national measures start, a request for everyone to “reduce the number of people you have contact with”

Wales’ First Minister has urged people to “do all they can” to keep themselves and their loved ones safe as the national firebreak ends.

For the two weeks people have been unable to meet with anyone from outside of their household and non-essential retail, hospitality and leisure facilities have been unable to open.

The restrictions were introduced in a bid to help reduce the number of coronavirus cases and hospital admissions.

From today the firebreak will be replaced with national measures, with First Minister Mark Drakeford urging people not to treat the new rules as a “game”.

From today such retail and hospitality will be able to open for customers and two households can join together to create a bubble. Only two households will be able to form a ‘bubble’. If one person from either household develops symptoms, everyone should immediately self-isolate.

Other changes being introduced today include:

• People will be able to meet in groups of up to four people (not including any children aged under 11) in regulated indoor places, such as hospitality – bars, pubs, cafes and restaurants. No alcohol can be served in any of these venues between 10pm and 6am, and where premises have a licence to sell alcohol they will have to close at 10.20pm.
• As part of keeping our risks to a minimum, people should avoid non-essential travel as much as possible. There will be no legal restrictions on travel within Wales for residents, but people can only travel into and out of Wales with a reasonable excuse.
• Up to 15 people can take part in an organised indoors activity (such as an exercise class – where a responsible body is managing the event) and up to 30 in an organised activity outdoors, providing all social distancing, hand hygiene and other covid safety measures are followed.
• All childcare facilities, schools, further education colleges, work-based learning and adult learning providers can return to the same model of operation as before the firebreak. Universities can continue to provide a combination of in-person teaching and blended learning.
• Places of worship can resume services.
• All retail businesses can reopen, including close-contact services such as hair dressers/barbers and beauty salons.
• Sport and leisure facilities, including gyms and swimming pools, can reopen, but the operators must take all reasonable measures to manage risk and maintain physical distancing;
• Entertainment venues can reopen. These include cinemas, bowling alleys, skating rinks, museums, galleries, bingo halls, casinos and amusement arcades, but theatres and concert halls, nightclubs and sexual entertainment venues are still required to be closed.
• Local authority services can resume based on local circumstances.
  Home viewings and home moves are allowed.
• Visits to care homes will be permitted, subject to local circumstances.

All premises re-opening will still be required to take all reasonable measures to minimise the risks of spreading the virus. This includes measures to ensure 2m social distancing is observed, as well as other measures, such as restricting numbers, implementing one-way systems or limiting the time people can remain on the premises.

Everyone is also being urged to follow the basics at all times – maintain social distancing; washing their hands often and wearing a face mask indoor public places. People will also be asked to work from home whenever possible.

Mr Drakeford said: “We all need to think about our own lives and what we can all do to keep our families safe. We need to stop thinking about the maximum limit of rules and regulations.

“Coronavirus is a highly infectious virus – it thrives on contact between people. To keep each other safe we need to reduce the number of people we have contact with and the amount of time we spend with them.

“There will be a new set of national measures from today, which will follow up all the hard work and sacrifices which have been made during the firebreak.

“We cannot go back to the way we were living our lives and throw away all that hard work.

Everyone in Wales has an important part to play in helping to prevent the spread of coronavirus – we cannot do this without your help.

“The new national measures are designed to protect people’s health and limit the harm from the virus.

“Government rules and regulations are here to help. But the real strength we have is in the choices we make and the actions we take together.”